Larry Backlund brings decades of loon watching experience to his daily Loon Blog. With a view overlooking his nesting platform, he gives a rare look into the life of a nesting loon, with words that can only be described from a man that loves the birds as much as he does.

Tonight has been one of those magnificent Minnesota twilight evenings.

That magical time of day when the sun has gone. Technically it is night. But there still remains a long period of twilight. An in between time. A restful, peaceful, relaxing time. It is a time that people who live in the great north are familiar with in the summer. But people at lower latitudes do not experience twilight in the same way. In lower latitudes, it is light. And it is dark. With very little transition in between.

You have watched that long transition on the webcam tonight.

Even now at 10 o'clock in the evening, there is still a slight glow in the northwestern sky. It is hard to make out any stars in that part of the sky because of the twilight glow.

The lake is like a sheet of glass. Still as can be. The frogs are in full song tonight.

And during this special time, somewhere out there our loon sits on the nest. No wind. No waves. No cold. No rain. No snow. In fact it got to 86 degrees here today! No boats. No eagles. All is quiet. Just very quiet. And peaceful.

I am sorry that I was not able to do a blog this morning. I have been out of town since yesterday.

I got home for just a few minutes this afternoon before I had to leave for another meeting tonight. Just in time to hear the loons give an alarm call. Both of them.

As I go to look to see what has alarmed them, I see two great blue herons fly almost right over the nest. Very seldom do they alarm call over a great blue heron. But they sure did this time. Apparently flying right over the nest was enough to do it. The loon on the nest never left. But along with its mate it sure was making its concern and displeasure known.

But there was something strange. I wish I knew what had happened to alarm the loons. The mate qas swimming in very close to shore. Much closer than it ever swims. That is the area where the great blue herons usually stalk their prey. Small fish.

Why was the loon there? I don't know. I would like to know. Had there been a confrontation between the heron and the loon? The loon would quite possibly come out on the short end of the stick in a confrontation like that. I have never seen such a confrontation. So once again the unknown. Whatever it was, the loons did not like it. But as soon as the two herons were gone, they quickly settled down to their main task - making sure that two eggs were taken care of.

But right now, in the dark, all is quiet. And one can only assume that all is well on the northern front.

Questions or Comments or Observations? Post them here or in the Chat Room or send them to LoonCam@yahoo.com

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Minnesota Bound

Sharing Stories of the Great Outdoors

Ron Schara, and his trusted
black
lab, Raven, began sharing stories of the outdoor lifestyle back in
1995.
Minnesota Bound is the show that started it all for Ron Schara and he
quickly found a passion for putting his words onto the television
screen. Today, it remains a trademark
program and is now running over 600 episodes strong. We seek characters that have a story to
tell. We seek out destinations and find out what makes them special.
We share the love of outdoors and those that enjoy it. Yes, it's
fishing
and hunting, but it's also camping, hiking, canoeing, archery, bird
watching, ice climbing and so much more. Minnesota Bound is a fan
favorite winning several hundred OWAA awards during its lifespan,
including 11 Emmy Awards.